Porcupine

by Meg Tilly

War-torn Afghanistan could not seem farther from Newfoundland, but it is about to change twelve-year-old tomboy Jack Cooper (or Jacqueline, as her mother insists on calling her) forever. When her father is killed in the war, she watches helplessly as her mother crumbles under sorrow and depression. Jack and her younger sister and brother, Tessa and Simon, end up across the country, living on a run-down farm in a small town on the Prairies with a great-grandmother they didn’t know existed. Worried that they will be abandoned again if Gran moves into a retirement home, Jack puts on a brave face and encourages Tessa and Simon to take on the challenges of their new life. In the process, she learns that families come in many different forms and that love, trust, and faith can build a home anywhere.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Canada, Novels, Indonesian Literature, Teen

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2007

About the author

Also see Sara Flynn

Meg Tilly may be best known for her acclaimed Golden Globe-winning lead performance in the movie Agnes of God. Other screen credits include The Big Chill, Valmont, and more recently, Bomb Girls, and Netflix's movie War Machine, starring Brad Pitt. After publishing six standout young adult and literary women's fiction novels, the award-winning author/actress decided to write the kind of books she loves to read--romance novels. Tilly has three grown children and resides with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. She is currently at work writing the next Solace Island novel.

Reviews

[Jackie "the Librarian" · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to realize this was written by THE Meg Tilly. It's not one of those picture books riding on a celebrity name for sales, I'm happy to report. Instead this a good solid middle school level book about a girl learning to rely on herself when her parents aren't there for her or her siblings.

The story is set in Canada, first in Newfoundland, and then in Alberta. It couldn't be less glamorous if it tried! I thought it was written by a Canadian who happened to share the same name.

Jacqueline, or Jack, as she prefers to be called, loves her father and remembers all the lessons he taught her. When he dies from friendly fire in Afghanistan, she holds her family together when her mother falls apart.

With bills piling up, and things looking grimmer and grimmer, Jack is surprised when her mother pulls her out of school for a visit to a great-grandmother Jack didn't even know she had. Except, it's not really a visit.

I liked the relationship between Jack and her brother and sister, shouldering the burden of parenthood and teaching them what she had learned from her father. And I loved the great-grandmother's toughness, which you could see mirrored in Jack. This book reminded me a lot of Dicey's Song by Voigt, in a good way.

Recommended for thoughtful middle-schoolers.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Porcupine
By: Victoria Szele

I read the book Porcupine By: Meg Tilly. This book is about a young girl and her family and how she deals with hardships in her life. Such as when her father dies in Afghanistan working in the Canadian armed forces to keep the peace. The family has to move in with the mothers grandma. After the mom and her great grandma fight, the mother unexpectedly leaves without an explanation. The family has to learn how to cope with their struggles and go on with their life in a new place. This book is not about a porcupine but near the end of the book they see a porcupine and really love how they can pet it when its quills aren’t sticking out and then they can’t pet it when it’s trying to protect itself. I don’t exactly know how this impacts the reader's understanding of the book, but it could be saying that life is sometimes hard representing the porcupines sharp quills, but if you try hard to make the best of it, then it will turn out alright which represents when the porcupines quills are not up and ready for defense.

The setting is mostly on a farm and you can really picture it in your mind. If the setting wasn’t on a farm it would be hard to imagine all the adventures the children go on there together. They go fishing together, they do their chores around the house and the farm, and they even see and kill a live snake. You couldn’t really picture this in a setting like a city. The mood also impacts the reader’s understanding of the book because if the young girls family wasn’t having such a rough time then everything would be pretty normal and the family would be at their own home continuing with their normal ways. The reader can picture the struggles this family is going through and they can maybe relate.

The point of view in this book is written in the first person. The main character in this book is named Jack. Jack, is almost always explaining her thoughts and feelings which is good because you know her perspective. You can agree or disagree with her and think about why she does what she does. If this book was being told by somebody else like the brother then the story would completely change. You would receive the perspective of a young boy which is much different than a teen girl.

The foreshadowing in this book is very easy to figure out. You can tell what may happen from other books you have read, real life experiences, or the clues the author gives. For example because it is dangerous in Afghanistan we know its definitely possible for attacks which can injure people or even kill them. We also know that when the power goes out randomly in someones house they probably didn’t pay their fee for power. The author made this clear to me when the power went out for no apparent reason and the mother just stayed in her room family despaired about her husband. We can predict that the family had to go live with their great grandma because the mother couldn’t pay for the power since the father wasn’t there to provide for the family anymore.

I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school and up because it is a pretty large book and has some bad language in it. The storyline also may be a little harsh for younger children. Overall this is a good book for people to picture what can happen in life and how to deal with what happens, try your best with a cheerful attitude, and maybe something good come out of something difficult.

[Kathy (Bermudaonion) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve year old Jacqueline (or Jack as she prefers to be called) is the oldest of three children in a typical, middle-class, Canadian family. She has a special bond with her father, so she’s nervous when he’s sent to Afghanistan as part of a peace-keeping force. He reassures her that everything will be okay and gives her his watch for safe-keeping.

Everything isn’t okay, though, and Jack’s father is killed by friendly fire shortly after arriving in Afghanistan. Jack and her siblings are devastated, and their mother doesn’t seem to know how to cope. Jack does her best to hold the family together, but even her best efforts aren’t enough, and when the family is about to lose their house, Jack’s mother packs up the kids and moves across the country to her grandmother’s house.

At first, the kids resent being there with their crotchety old great-grandmother, but Jack overhears something one day that makes her realize things aren’t as bad as she thought.

When I started Porcupine, by Meg Tilly (the actress), my initial thought was that the narrator seemed older than twelve, but quickly realized it was because Jack was forced to grow up before her time. I ended up totally engrossed in this story and just sobbed towards the end. I don’t think I can express how much I ended up loving this story!

Jack is such a great character. After her father dies, life isn’t easy for her, but she doesn’t feel sorry for herself, she does something about it! She works hard to help her great-grandmother, to fit in at school and to keep her family together. It’s just too much for a twelve year old, but Jack does her best, sometimes stumbling along the way.

Jack’s great-grandmother is wonderful too. Sure, she’s crotchety, but she’s determined and earnest and hard working too. She’s fiercely protective of her own and doesn’t hesitate to let you know how she feels.

The characters aren’t the only good part of Porcupine, though – the story is wonderful too. I got caught up in it quickly and just had to know how things were going to turn out. Things didn’t always go how I predicted either! I think there are many young people who can relate to what Jack and her siblings are going through. There is a little language in this book, but it seemed appropriate for the story.

[Nidos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book as a mousepad for quite a long time without realizing that this one is such a gem. The vibe is a lot like Hero of Lesser Causes, but the story is a lot different. Here we have Jack, the eldest sister who gotta take care of literally everything after her dad was accidentally shot to death at work in Afghanistan and Jack's sorta depressed Mom left her to her great-grandmother (from whom Mom ran away at such a young age to marry the love of her life).

Jack being a thirteen-year-old girl, no matter how strong she wanted to be seen, was just a little girl. Jack had her own insecurities. About her lil siblings Simon and Tessa. About Gran. About Mom. About herself. Sometimes she's right, sometimes she's just worrying too much.

This book doesn't give us perfection, nor happy ending, but it gives us hope--that even when things don't work like we want them to, just hang on because that's what life is: a process.

If only the translation went a bit smoother. Three stars.

[Shania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library last year, because it the cover looked pretty interesting, with all the colors & I wanted to know the whole point about the "Porcupine". Well you don't get to meet this Porcupine to the end of the book, & this book was amazing. I loved it so much I checked it out again & read it for a second time. ! I really wish I owned this book though because it is def in my favorites. The book-- I don't know how to explain it.. it was just soo great a book you will never get tired of reading. Everyone should read it.. I'm so confused on why its not popular like the Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games trilogy & the Harry Potter series. Because it really really REALLY should be.

[Rebecca Waring-Crane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meg Tilly, yes the actress from The Big Chill, tries her hand and YA fiction and starts off well. Occasionally the voice of her main character Jack (short for Jacqueline) spouts vocabulary that just doesn't seem believable for even a very bright twelve-almost-thirteen-year-old. But I still like her. Tilly finds her rhythm describing early morning milking, mucking out the chicken coop, retrieving a fresh-caught trout, and there's the magical scene with the porcupine.

The tough, loner Jack reminds me of the title character from Cynthia Voigt's award winner: Dicey's Song.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve year old Jack (a girl) has to cope with the death of her father in Afghanistan and the fact that her mother has abandoned her and her siblings with a grouchy great-grandmother on a farm in Alberta. This is actually a young adult book, but I read a review and decided to try it. It was very good. It’s recommended for ages 10-12, but I’d say more like 12 and up due to the sometimes rough language.

[Mystery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book sometime in late elementary school and it was my favorite book for years and years after I first read it. It holds a very, very special place in my heart, and I think it always will.

I was the type of kid who would pick random books off the shelf and read them if I found the blurb even just a smidge interesting to me. Porcupine was a book I had never heard of and Meg Tilly wasn’t a name that rang a bell to me at all, but there was just something about this simple-looking book that immediately drew me in.

I was an avid reader and would finish books within 3 days flat, while reading 5 books at the same time. The only explanation I have for this strange ability to never get characters or story-lines mixed up was my undiagnosed ADHD that I think found its home within novels. But being a young, headstrong girl with ADHD wasn’t easy growing up, and I know that’s one reason I resonated so deeply with the main character in Porcupine. She was such a strong character who still loved and cared so hard. She was brave but still a little lost and scared sometimes, and the overall humanity of her made me feel so *seen*. I was less feminine when I was younger so I felt really validated when reading about her and got deeper into the story.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I would definitely say that this is still one of my favorite books. I have re-read it countless times throughout my life and I always seem to take more away from it every time.

I’m only 21 now so I’ve grown and changed a lot since when I first read it. At the same time, I know that girl who first looked up to Jack still exists in me and I love her more than anything. I hope I can cherish her for a long, long time <3

[Arkane Trouville · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first books that placed me in perspective and had me fearing real life. I was around 14 or 15, maybe, when I first read this. I was new to reading, so I had a hard time getting through some chapters. Still, I managed to finish the book, and it was the first time I felt wrecked and empty because of a book. I saw me and my siblings in the story, and the father's death and mother's abandonment just shattered me. I found it so relatable because I was a child too and was like Jacqueline at some point.

The book was well-written, but I kind of hated the ending because it left me with no closure. It was the first book that didn't give me a satisfying ending, and I had to go to the internet to see if the author was still alive and if there was a sequel. I mean, I was begging to know what was going to happen to his brother, and they left me with that. Are you kidding me? And no, I don't like open endings. I need certainty.

[shafia hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bahasa indonesia:
Buku iniii buku pertama yang saya baca dan buat saya tambah ingin explorasi buku buku yang lain untuk di baca, pembahasan nya ringa namun punya banyak sekali kesan, penulis kasih beberap scene yang beneran bikin nangis banget, i love this book.

[mid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when I was highschool omg it still lingers till now, 11 years later

[Camille Schulz]

Reread this book from my childhood. Just as sad as I remembered. Sweet ending though.

[Rania❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

1

Jacqueline loves autumn and always waits for autumn’s first day. This morning Jacqueline is very because it is the first day of autumn, the only thing that Jacqueline is doing is watching the wonderful view for her window. Jacqueline is feeling very comfortable right now, but her mom said that it is enough looking at the window. Then Jacqueline heard that her mom was going out and that’s what Jacqueline shouted “Yes! I’m home free, (page1). Her mom needed an explanation and Jacqueline told her mom the reason. Jacqueline always dreamed to see the iceberg stare at her window and enjoy the fantastic view. It’s her favorite view that only happens the morning of autumn. “People travel from all over the world to see these icebergs, and I get to hop up on my window and see them for free,” Jacqueline said, (page 2)

Once the icebergs were gone Jacqueline stopped washing the window and saw her brother Simon that just came from his dad workshop. Simon was trying yo make legos, but it was an epic fail. “Nothing even close like other kids do” Jacqueline whispered in her head. Jacqueline is still furious that her mom asked to not watch the most amazing thing in autumn, that is what Jacqueline thinks. “I’m twelve years old, Mom it’s not like I’m a baby!” Jacqueline keeps on repeating, (page 3) Jacqueline’s mom is scared that Jacqueline is so amazed by the view and want to see it closer and slips from the window and die.

Jacqueline and her mom doesn’t get along well because Jacqueline say that her mom is very unfair. “Simon and I, we take after Dad’s side of the family and I’m glad.” Jacqueline whispered in her head, (page 5) Jacqueline’s dad always make Jacqueline comfortable at any time and always makes Jacqueline laugh. Jacqueline’s mom it’s always fighting and Jacqueline’s dad keeps on laughing. That disturbes Jacquelin's mom a lot and then Jacqueline keeps on laughing with her dad. Jacqueline is so happy to feel someone on her side.

2


Jacqueline’s dad went running to the war and didn’t think about his family, the only thing he was focused on was the war. Running in action and shooting everywhere, all the shoots came back to him. People didn’t really care because there are a billion people who died in the war. Also, Jacqueline’s dad was not a General or an important person who changed the world. Jacqueline and her family are a little bit worried,but Jacqueline the most. Jacqueline just thinks that her dad is going to die and maybe herself too. All the questions that Jacqueline asked to her mom “Mom are we going to be fine? And how about dad? Dad is going to be fine right? Right? Right? (Jacqueline page 154) Crying and screaming for a whole day Jacqueline can’t stop thinking about her dad and why is he now in the war fighting.

After, one whole day of war Jacqueline waits for her dad to open the secret room. Jacqueline’s dad said that he will come to open the secret room after the war. Jacqueline and her family waited for a long time and Jacqueline starts asking questions again, “Mom! I thought dad said that the war will be a day long why didn’t he open the secret room yet?” (Jacqueline page 159) Jacqueline’s mom crying because she remembered that her husband told her if he doesn’t open the secret room after the war it means he is dead. Jacqueline understood why her mom was crying and cried too with her siblings.

This is the end, Jacqueline’s dad’s friend opened the secret room and found everyone crying and tried to make them feel better. Nothing worked and Jacqueline went running looking for her dad everywhere. “Jacqueline come back please Jacqueline!” (Jacqueline’s mom page 165) Jacqueline couldn’t find her dad and sat down watching all he dead people. Jacqueline made her ring fall in the grownd that her dad bought her and the ring kept on rolling until she found her dad. The ring led Jacqueline to her dad, but Jacqueline finally knew that her dad was dead and cried for about 4 hours. Her mom was scared because she didn’t know where was Jacqueline. Jacqueline came back home and said to everyone what happened and they started planning for the funereal.

[Haryadi Yansyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tentang – Porcupine -

Jacqueline atau yang lebih sering dipanggil Jack adalah anak tertua di keluarga mereka. Jack mempunyai dua orang adik –Tessa dan Simon, yang sejujurnya hubungan mereka tidak terlalu akrab. Terlebih terhadap Tessa. Jack merasa Tessa terlalu dimanja oleh Mom mereka. Namun, ternyata Tessa juga beranggapan serupa bahwa Jack adalah anak kesayangan Dad mereka.

Simon sendiri masih terlalu kecil dan tidak mengerti hubungan dingin kedua kakaknya. Walaupun sedikit kaku, hubungan mereka sekeluarga cukup harmonis dan hangat. Namun, semuanya menjadi berubah takkala, Dad –ayah mereka, yang merupakan seorang tentara perdamaian asal Canada, meninggal dunia akibat peluru nyasar ketika ditugaskan di Afghanistan. Dad ditembak oleh tentara Amerika Serikat.



Keluarga mereka lalu bermasalah dengan keuangan. Mom lalu memutuskan untuk pindah ke rumah buyut yang selama ini tidak mereka kenal. Rumah indah mereka di Newfoundland harus dijual. Sayangnya, keberadaan mereka tidak diterima baik oleh Buyut mereka. Ini karena permasalahan masa lalu tentang hubungan kedua orang tua mereka.

Semua menjadi makin berat takkala Mom mereka memutuskan pergi dan meninggalkan mereka untuk tinggal di rumah buyut yang sebetulnya tidak menerima kehadiran mereka dengan tulus. Di sana, mereka harus bekerja keras membantu menyelesaikan urusan rumah tangga, perkebunan bahkan Jack harus memeras susu sapi setiap hari.

Jack-Simon-Tessa mau tidak mau harus saling membantu. Tidak mudah memang, terlebih selama ini hubungan mereka sedikit kaku. Jacklah yang menanggung berat terbesar. Selain dia harus menyelesaikan pekerjaan rumah, ia harus belajar memupuk rasa persaudaraan yang dalam dengan Tessa dan membantu Simon yang ternyata disleksia dan terancam tinggal kelas.

Tapi... ternyata tinggal bersama seorang buyut yang galak tidak selamanya buruk. Itu hanya terbatas komunikasi saja. Buyut mereka ternyata sangat penyayang dan menjadi orang pertama yang membela mereka dikala mereka menghadapi permasalahan. Kabut dikehidupan Jack-Tessa-Simon perlahan hilang, berganti dengan kehangatan mentari yang damai.

<

Porcupine adalah buku yang indah. Tak menyangka bahwa yang menulis adalah mantan aktris terkenal –Meg Tilly. Menurutku buku ini jauh dari kesan menggurui. Alih-alih mendikte, Meg Tilly pandai membawa emosi pembaca untuk ikut menyelami kisah Jack dalam mengurusi adik-adiknya. Jempolan deh :)

[an · Rating 3 out of 5]

musim gugur pertama kisah ini susah untuk dilewati sehingga butuh waktu lama untuk mennyelesaikan buku ini. mengembalikan kenangan ketika seseorang yang kau anggap sebagai pelindung dan panutan tiba-tiba terenggut keberadaan na oleh waktu dan ketiadaan. membuat kenangan-kenangan indah berenang-renang kembali di kolam ingatan rhe.

seperti itulah... ketika kita kehilangan seorang ayah, seakan semua orang lalu menyerahkan kewajiban dan tanggung jawab kepada anak pertama. kenapa harus anak pertama? kenapa bukan ibu, istri na? karena pada saat kehilangan itu, istrilah yang paling histeris dan... tanggung jawab melakukan segala na, orang yang dituntut untuk berpikiran normal adalah si anak pertama. mendadak, fungsi ayah dialih tugaskan kepada na.

rasa na sungguh ga adil, melihat adik yang ukuran na lebih besar justru beberapa kali pingsan dan kita yang bertubuh kecil harus menggotong na. melihat air mata ibu tumpah ruah sementara kita dilarang menangis. karena rhe lah yang harus menyelesaikan segala urusan. apakah kedukaan adalah milik mereka seorang? tapi duka adalah perasaan yang ga pernah bohong, ga pernah salah dan ga mau ditipu. lalu kenapa rhe yang harus bersikap paling tenang menghadapi semua na itu. tapi... memang itulah pilihan yang harus diambil karena memang dibutuhkan 1 orang normal di antara kekacauan-kekacauan yang terjadi tiba-tiba.

dan dalam kisah ini... adalah sikap yang tepat jika jack lebih menutup diri. berusaha menutupi kerapuhan diri na untuk menenangkan adik-adik na. dan untunglah adik-adik manja na perlahan mau menjadi pribadi yang mandiri juga sehingga akhir na jack bisa menjadi diri na kembali. diri yang sebenar na, yang sempat tertutup topeng selama dia mencoba tampak tegar di hadapan semua orang.

jack mengajarkan banyak. dia dengan usai sekecil itu aja bisa tegar. sedangkan rhe... terkadang masih merasakan ketidakadilan ketika melihat orang lain bercengkrama dengan ayah mereka. 'kenapa harus ayah rhe?' pertanyaan itu selalu muncul saat melihat pasangan ayah-anak di mana aja. namun...

masih beruntung rhe dibanding jack, setidak na dalam keadaan seperti itu, kami tidak ditelantarkan oleh ibu. dan karena kisah inilah... rhe jadi bangga ma ibu, walo mungkin butuh waktu lama untuk bangun kembali, setidak na beliau tidak lari... thx bu'
percaya kalau ayah bakal tetep bareng-bareng kita. di sini, di hati masing-masing. saat ini n kapan aja :D

[Jessie Bross · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book the character Tessa changes a lot. Tessa in the beginning of the story is mean and she acts like a brat, however toward the end of the book she is nicer and more caring toward her family. In the beginning Jack and Tessa do not like each other that much. Towards the end they really love each other and appreciate each other and how they treat each other. In the beginning Tessa doesn’t care about anyone but herself, in the middle of the book she is nice and then when their mom visits them she is mean again, in the end she is nice and not a brat anymore. All the characters have to change when their mom leaves them but Tessa changes the most. Jack becomes more independent and she starts to become the “mom”, then she realizes that their grandma is becoming their “mom”. Simon doesn’t really change that much but he starts to love and appreciate his family more. She shows how mean she is when she is all goody two shoes around her mom in the beginning of the story. And toward the end she shows how she really changed by telling Jack she loves her and giving her a hug. This book really helps you realize you do not appreciate what you have until you lose it. In the end the character that changed the most in the biggest way was Tessa because she went from mean to nice throughout the story

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a young tween girl, Jack and her siblings. After their father is killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan their mother takes them across Canada to visit their grandmother, where she abandons them.
The educational merit of this book does not outweigh nor justify the foul language included. There are other resources to cover this material that are far more appropriate.
The author heavily relies on the use of sentence fragments, sometimes straying into the territory of poor grammar in an attempt to make the first person narration from a young teen’s voice believable. At other times the language used seems far beyond what is believable for a child of this age.

Parental Warning
This book contains excessive foul language. I stopped counting on page 117, which is only half way through the book, as this is clearly not an appropriate educational book for children.

Fu**ers - p. 81
Fu**ing h*ll - p. 73
Bit*h - p. 65 x 3, 66, 67 x 2, 68, 73
Bullsh*t - p. 89
A**hole - p. 82, 112
A** - p. 3, 73, 82
Dam*ed/Da*n - p. 5, 41, 60, 71, 74, 81, 113
H*ll (used as a swear word) - p. 24, 48, 73, 91
Pissed - p. 4, 37, 83
Jesus/Jesus Christ (used as a swear word) - p. 7, 71
God (used as a swear word) - p. 2, 3, 8, 44, 58
Screwed - p. 45, 92
Crap - p. 66
Sucks - p.113

There is reference to church ladies “taking a dump”.

Jack wonders what her fathers body looks like, whether his eyeballs are gone and if there are maggots crawling out of his eye sockets.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

There is a new voice in Canadian young adult literature, that of Jack (Jacqueline) Cooper. She tells the story of her family’s descent into poverty and despair after the death of her peacekeeper father in Afghanistan. His death is the result of “friendly fire” and this event catapults Jack into adulthood at the age of twelve. Her mother Fran flees the responsibilities and bills in Newfoundland, travelling west in her dilapidated car to her home town in Alberta, arriving unannounced, three children in tow, at her estranged grandmother’s house, the home where she was raised after the death of her parents. Fran’s flighty nature, her widow’s grief and her continued conflictive relationship with her grandmother propel her out of the farm house and into Calgary, without her three children. Jack takes charge of her two younger siblings, Tessa and Simon, and her failing great grandmother in order to keep her family together. She fears that Gran, while strong in character, may sell the family homestead for economic reasons and move into assisted housing, thus abandoning the children further. Jack and Gran’s rocky relationship—amid prickly personalities—develops into one of mutual respect and comfort as they come to realize their dependence on one another, and their mutual heartbreak at being abandoned by the one person that brought them together, Fran. Meg Tilly’s descriptive passages of life on the prairies, and of the children’s heartache, are truly lyrical. Jack’s perception of human failing on the part of those she cares about and her innate desire to be the beloved child again are bittersweet.

Reviewed by Liz Gilbert in Canadian Children's Book News
Winter 2008 VOL.31 NO.1

[Lauren Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read Porcupine, by Meg Tilly. I thought this book was kind of sad. So if you don't like sad book, click out of this review!
A little about this book is, this girl named Jack, (short for Jacqueline) her sister and brother are living at their great grandma's house. They are because their dad was in the military and he died because he got shot. So, their mom broke down and couldn't pay the bills around the house. So while the kids were at school, their mom called them to the office and took them for a drive saying that their great grandma was sick and they had to take care of her. Later you find out she was lying. She really just dropped the kids off there and drove away. So they had to start a new school and make new friends. Their mom came back on Jack's birthday with a new hair color and style and brand new clothes and expensive jewelry. So it's kind of interesting to see what happens in the end.
I gave this book a four star, because I did not like the ending. I didn't like it because it didn't say what happened to the kids and if the grandma died or went into retirement. It basically said at the end that her brother went to a special needs class and he was happy about it. I thought it was a horrible ending, but the beginning and middle was good. I just don't know why when the author wrote this she made a horrible ending to the book. It really was a good book until the end. I was just sitting and reading the book, kind of wondering how it was going to end, then it was like I was reading the middle when I read the end. So, if you don't like good endings to books, then don't read this one.

[Zia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a young girl (tween) whose father dies in a friendly fire battle. The mother is devastated, and the girl is put in the role of mother and father for the family. The mother wakes up one day and drives the children to a great-grandmother's house in the country for a "visit." The grandmother does not know they are coming, and in fact, has never the met the children. Her take is that the "no-good" husband finally left the mother. The girl spits out in anger, the truth about the dad's death, which of course, changes the reaction of the great-grandmother.

The mother eventually leaves the kids with the g-grandmother and actually moves to the city. The kids of course, are constantly wondering when the mother will come back. At first, they don't live living with the g-grandmother, who has them do lots of chores, and is strict. But then they come to realize the g-grandmother really loves them; unlike the mother who abandoned them.

There is quite a lot of cursing in the book; but it does not seem to be thrown in for effect -- it is fairly logical under the circumstances.

The girl has a lot of internal struggles as she becomes the one to raise her brother (who get bullied at school) and sister. Her relationship with the g-grandmother is stoic but deep.

[Ifa Inziati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ganti rating sejak tahu proses kreatif penulisnya dan fakta bahwa cerita ini terkenang oleh saya sampai sekarang + sudah memengaruhi saya dalam menulis (dan hal lain). Oh wow haha.

Dan kover terjemahannya ternyata lebih bagus hehe. Judul terjemahannya juga. Kudos buat editornya! 🦔

***

AAAAAAAK! Kaver versi aslinya lucu banget! Ada yang jual nggak, ya?

Saya suka Jack. Dia kuat, tapi lemah. Penggambaran karakternya bagus dan setiap hal-hal baru yang mengejutkan dirinya nggak semerta-merta mengubah kepribadiannya, tapi perlahan-lahan. Misalnya, pandangannya terhadap ibunya yang 'menelantarkan' dia dan adik-adiknya di rumah neneknya, neneknya yang galak dan keras kepala, adiknya yang seolah-olah lebih disayangi ibunya, dan dirinya sendiri. Ini bacaan remaja yang cukup rumit dan banyak pesan moral bertebaran. Bagus.

Saya baru tahu kalau kita bisa megang landak tanpa tertusuk durinya. Keren. Itu hal baru yang saya pelajari dari buku ini.

Mau buku versi aslinya .____. unyu beudh

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

No author has been able to give me warm and fuzzy feelings like Meg Tilly. I’m pretty sure I was smiling as I read this book, which is weird for me, because I usually have a poker face when I read.

I'll admit that I wasn't entranced by the plot summary. But the real beauty of this story doesn’t come from the action-packed, fast-paced-ness of it all; it comes from the interactions between the characters and how they grow to the end of the book. I loved Jack’s care for her siblings, and even though I don’t have siblings myself, that kind of fierce protective love rings true somewhere. And how her perception of her grandmother changes…oh, it’s just so good! There are so many truly sweet moments. Through pretty much the entire second half, I was beaming the entire time. It’s impossible not to. This is such a heartwarming book.

This review is also posted on my blog. For the full review, please check out http://cheekymonkeyreviews.blogspot.c...

[Anastasia Ervina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya benar-benar terpukau akan ketegaran Jacqueline untuk menjadi pemimpin dan pelindung adik-adiknya--Tessa dan Simon. Saya merasa tak memiliki secuil pun dari ketegaran Jack sebagai anak sulung yang mesti selalu menjaga adik-adiknya setelah kematian ayahnya dan kepergian ibunya yang menelantarkan mereka di rumah terpencil nenek buyutnya yang jauh dari kota.
Ternyata Gran--nenek buyut mereka--tak sejahat yang semula Jack sangka. Malah Gran yang sudah tua renta dan hidup sendiri itu mau mengurusi mereka--Jack dan adik-adiknya--dibandingkan ibu mereka sendiri yang seakan melupakan mereka.
Saya sangat terharu akan kasih sayang Gran pada cicit-cicitnya. Walau pun terkesan galak dan kurang hangat, ternyata hati Gran begitu baik dan ia menyayangi mereka yang bahkan menurut saya melebihi ibu mereka sendiri.
Sungguh novel dengan pelajaran yang luar biasa! Semoga buku ini menjadikan setiap anak sulung dapat menjadi kakak yang bijak bagi adik-adiknya sebijak yang Jack lakukan :)

[Nadiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should see the cover of the Indonesian version. It's beautiful. It was the reason why I took it out of the bookstore shelf. I read the synopsis on the back cover, and I knew I had to read it.

And I finished it today.

So touching and beautiful. Although I don't understand why would a mother leave their lovely kids like that right after their father's death. In a way, it reminds me of the Pursuit of Happyness, a mother leaving the family.

But, these kids, they don't have a father to take care of them. Yet, a great-grand-mother is there for them. Thank God for that.

How I love Jack a.k.a Jacqueline. She's very young but can be so strong and wise and matured. I'm ashamed of myself knowing that I don't even have half of all her qualities.

Grown-ups who wish to be strong must read this book. There is no better way for grown-ups to be strong than reading this lovely book.

[Rahmadiyanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cerita buku ini sederhana, tapi aduuh… nyesss banget (istilah seorang mbak neh). Sejak lihat covernya, saya emang langsung jatuh cinta sama ni buku. Ceritanya sendiri tentang 3 kakak beradik (Jack/Jacqueline, Tessa, dan Simon) yang ditinggal sang ayah, yang tewas saat tugas di Afghanistan (tahu kenapa ayah mereka yang tentara Canada tewas? Tak sengaja tertembak tentara Amerika…). Sang ibu yang rada-rada depresi menitipkan mereka pada neneknya (nenek buyut ketiga anak tsb) yang selama ini tidak mereka kenal. Kondisi si nenek yang pas-pasan membuat Jack dan adik-adiknya harus “tahu diri” dan membantu kehidupan si nenek. Jack pun harus menjadi “kakak yang mengayomi” adik-adiknya. Mengaduk emosi.

[Nilam Suri · Rating 3 out of 5]

baca buku ini gara-gara ngeliatnya tergeletak begitu aja di meja salah seorang teman. tapi pas baca nggak menyesal sedikitpun sudah meluangkan waktu.

buku ini punya nuansa yang sedikit mengingatkan sama anak-anak bluberynn (bener gini ga sih nulisnya) Astrid Lindgren, jadi ingat jaman kecil dulu. serunya karena teen lit ini nggak dangkal, nggak membahas masalah standar teen-lit (baju, cowok, geng) tapi lebih ke isu keluarga yang lebih dalam dan menyentuh.

sebagai anak pertama, agak tersentil juga sih baca buku ini.menjadi kakak itu ternyata tanggung jawabnya besar yaaa? kok gue ga pernah merasa gitu ya,huhuhu, kasian adik2ku ;(

tapi kenapa porcupine (sejenis landak) diterjemahkan jadi "menjadi kakak" ya?

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Appropriate more for young adults. I wouldn't recommend any kid read it before the age of 12 or 13, perhaps even older. There is some bad language in it and some very deep emotional stuff. The Jack's dad dies in Afghanistan. Her mom sinks into a deep depression and stops taking care of them. They have to move across the country where their mom abandons them and their great grandmother. Mom doesn't ever step up in the end. I thought the book was very raw and real. The ending is good, but not "and they all lived happily ever after." It is hopeful. I like books that don't tie everything up in a pretty bow, but still are hopeful in the end. This was good. I'd recommend it even to another adult.

[Hobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kisahnya bagus, tentang pejuangan anak-anak saat keluarga mereka ditimpa musibah, ini sedikit mengingatkan akan kisah 'the railway children' karya penulis klasik E. Nesbit, hanya sayangnya ending sedikit menggantung, mungkin memang disengaja oleh sang penulis yang ingin memberikan kebebasan memilih jalan hidup masing-masing karakter sesuai keinginan pembaca.
Satu hal yang membuatku sedikit penasaran, nama sang penulis terasa familier, dan setelah melakukan searching di google, ternyata benar dugaanku, Meg Tilly adalah aktris Hollywood yang lumayan dikenal lewat peran-peran pembantu di berbagai film.

more about this book, check at my review in here :
( http://little-alice-garden.blogspot.c... )

[Monica Samiadjie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very touching. The way Meg Tilly describe everything is just so beautiful. She understands people emotions. Like when Jack's dad was coming to her dreams and when she woke up she was choked up and crying because she suddenly misses her dad. I cried so hard. Jack's relationship with her Dad is a very close one. Very personal and deep. He understand her more than anyone. I think her life was shaken up so hard when her dad dies. But unlike her mother who choosed to run away with some random guy because she cant face the reality and withdrawing herself from her kids... jack faced it up bravely.
And not to mention how she kept her dad's watch so carefully. That small details makes me feels so sad.

[Mia An Nur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kalau tidak salah (berarti benar), buku ini menjadi novel cetak pertama yg aku punya. Aku membeli Porcupine saat masih duduk di bangku SMP, tepatnya di toko buku kala itu yg paling mentereng dan (sepertinya) satu-satunya di Gresik bernama Salemba. Hehe. Aku membeli buku ini karena tertarik dengan cover dan blurb-nya.

Pertama kali membaca novel dan langsung menjamah buku terjemahan, keren sekali kalau dipikir-pikir. Porcupine menjelma menjadi cerita yg hangat dalam ingatan masa kecilku. Seperti judulnya, aku diajak menyelami perjalanan tokoh si Kakak. Sejujurnya aku sudah lupa bagaimana alur ceritanya dan karena ulasan ini ... aku tergelitik untuk membaca ulang. Hehe.

Kemungkinan besar ulasan ini akan aku sunting ulang. Nanti~